Noise, smoke at plant "not an emergency" according to company

BATON ROUGE- An operational issue at the ExxonMobil Plastics Plant on Hwy. 19 near Baker caused a large noise and spooked many people in the northern part of the city Monday afternoon.

But, there is no emergency and no one is in danger the company said in a statement sent to media outlets about 45 minutes after the incident.

At about 2:34 p.m., "The situation activated the unit safety devices as designed and relieved pressure on the unit by venting non-toxic material. The venting of these gases caused a noise that may have been heard and smoke that may be visible to surrounding neighbors," said Lana Sonnier Venable. Venable is the Public & Government Affairs officer for ExxonMobil Baton Rouge.

"ExxonMobil personnel immediately reported the event to all appropriate agencies. There were no injuries, and there was no significant environmental impact to the surrounding community," Venable's email stated.